Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: The Ultimate Sacrifice
SERIES: Four Packs Trilogy #2
AUTHOR: Nic Starr & BL Maxwell
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 170 Pages
RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2022
BLURB:
Grady Summerville is facing a slow and agonizing death, but has come to terms with his disease and doesn’t fear dying. However, fate has other ideas, presenting him with a future thanks to Max Steele. Grady owes his very life to Max, and as his health improves, finds himself falling head over heels with his savior.
Max Steele has been forced to leave his pack and everyone he knows to move to the West Territory to be a blood donor for Grady. He knows it’s the right thing to do, but it doesn’t mean he has to like it.
As tensions escalate between the two packs, Max finds his loyalty tested and is torn between following his alpha, or following his heart.
If Max doesn’t make the sacrifice then it will be Grady making the ultimate sacrifice and paying with his life. #MMParanormal #Shifters
REVIEW:
Max doesn’t want to go to the East Territories, but he can’t let a man die. So, with reserved anticipation, he leaves his home to save Grady, who is dying from TSD – The Slow Death. But with trust between the packs, uneasy, he also takes away with him, words from his Alpha. Grady feels guilty with the knowledge that someone from another pack has uprooted everything for him. But when the two meet, the fates take over.
The Ultimate Sacrifice is the second of the Four Packs Trilogy. Although the focus of this episode concludes, there is a carryover of the underlying story to the next novel. Therefore, this is a series where all books need to be read.
The story is told in the third person, present tense from the viewpoints of Max and Grady. Most of the worldbuilding was completed in book one, and as events in this story are between limited locations – actions and thoughts are detailed.
Grady and Max are lovely men. Max is a Lawyer, and Grady is a veterinarian. Both have hearts of gold. But beautiful insides don’t always make a good story. After reading the first in the series, I looked forward to reading The Ultimate Sacrifice. However, all I could muster was like. The story was akin to being driven to a theme park and then only walking around instead of getting on the rides. It was nice enough but, until the last twenty percent, lacked anything to adjust the heart rate.
The extended cast provided a variety of personalities – all loyal to their priorities. These offered a glimmer of drama on the horizon but remained on its edge. The jump into the realm of heart-palpitating gritty action was missing. It’s not that I didn’t like or enjoy the story. Grady and Max’s journey was sweet and well-written. However, when I read a book, the number of hearts I give it depends on the workout my heart gets while reading.
I am a reader in waiting for that punchy novel in the series that I know these two authors are capable of.
RATING: 
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